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Auralith Learning

Year 8 · Maths · Representing data · Lesson 1

Pie charts

Learn to draw pie charts by working out angles from a frequency table, read pie charts to find frequencies, find missing angles and totals, and compare pie charts carefully.

Whiteboard video lesson: Pie charts

35-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Work out the angle for each item in a pie chart
  • Draw a pie chart from a frequency table
  • Read frequencies from a pie chart
  • Find missing angles and totals
  • Compare pie charts with different totals

The method

  1. Find the total frequency.
  2. Work out 360° ÷ total: the degrees for each one.
  3. Drawing: multiply each frequency. Reading: divide each angle.
  4. Check that the angles add up to 360°.

Key words: pie chart, sector, angle, frequency, 360 degrees.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

Draw a pie chart for the pets of 30 pupils. Dog 10, Cat 8, Fish 5, None 7.

  1. Step 1: Copy the table with an angle column
  2. Step 2: Total = 30
  3. Step 3: 360° ÷ 30 = 12° each
  4. Step 4: Angle for Dog
  5. Step 5: Angle for Cat
  6. Step 6: Angle for Fish
  7. Step 7: Angle for None
  8. Step 8: Check: do they add up to 360°?
  9. Step 9: Draw the pie chart with a protractor

Answer: Angles: 120°, 96°, 60°, 84°

Question 2

Draw a pie chart for how 60 pupils travel to school. Walk 25, Car 15, Bus 12, Bike 8.

  1. Step 1: Copy the table with an angle column
  2. Step 2: Total = 60
  3. Step 3: 360° ÷ 60 = 6° each
  4. Step 4: Angle for Walk
  5. Step 5: Angle for Car
  6. Step 6: Angle for Bus
  7. Step 7: Angle for Bike
  8. Step 8: Check: do they add up to 360°?
  9. Step 9: Draw the pie chart with a protractor

Answer: Angles: 150°, 90°, 72°, 48°

Question 3

Draw a pie chart for the favourite fruit of 36 people. Apple 12, Banana 9, Orange 10, Grapes 5.

  1. Step 1: Copy the table with an angle column
  2. Step 2: Total = 36
  3. Step 3: 360° ÷ 36 = 10° each
  4. Step 4: Angle for Apple
  5. Step 5: Angle for Banana
  6. Step 6: Angle for Orange
  7. Step 7: Angle for Grapes
  8. Step 8: Check: do they add up to 360°?
  9. Step 9: Draw the pie chart with a protractor

Answer: Angles: 120°, 90°, 100°, 50°